Mom's day recap
May. 23rd, 2007 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chelidonSomeone asked me to, so I'm just getting around to posting the menu and recipes we used here for Mother's Day. We make kind of a big deal here of both Mother's Day and Father's Day, as much-deserved days of rest and appreciation.
Parenting roles, though surely full of rewards and delight, can take so much work, so much care and intention, that a day totally "off duty" is a very special joy. Once you're responsible for a child, the very concept of "time off" takes a total back-seat to the chaos of what Must Be Done Now, and very often, your own immediate needs have to get sidelined to a large extent until the needs of your children are taken care of. That's the way it is, and that's the way it has to be. Nobody should be a selfless martyr, it's always a balance, as with any functional relationship, but it's also true that in a parent-child relationship, it should always be quite clear who the adult/parent is, and what responsibilities that involves. People who are parents know this, and people who become parents...well, they find out soon enough ;>
So the night before Mother's Day, my Ravishing Partner and one of my Lovely Housemates went over to a friend's house for an evening of facials, massage and other sensory pampering that the friend had won in a raffle. The next morning, my Ravishing Partner went out for an early morning walk (morning people...eh), and on her return found flowers, and breakfast served bymy son and I, of Belgian waffles (my favorite recipe uses beaten egg whites folded in to make them very light and fluffy) with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and warm maple syrup, good champagne with a fresh strawberry in it, fresh juice, coffee and other yummy things. My son had hand-made a lovely card as a present to give, and I served the breakfast with my present -- actual matching silverware (well, stainless-ware, whatever) from a nice Oneida service of 16 I'd ordered a few weeks before. The pattern, simple but elegant, is called "Demeter," I couldn't resist. My partner has been wishing for matching silverware for, oh, something like 20 years now, but it's just never been a priority, the mish-mosh of random hand-me-downs we've accumulated have always filled the need. But, you know, 20 years is long enough for someone to wait, I think. The downside is that now having, for the very first time, a full set of matching plates, silverware and glasses, and a real dining-room table that can seat as many people as the room will hold (my partner's table from childhood, in fact, a recent gift from her parents when they moved up), I think we finally have to face the fact that we are really, truly adults. Hmmph.
The rest of the morning and afternoon I spent with my son, doing all kinds of good dad-son stuff, and my partner did whatever the heck she wanted to, whenever she wanted to, which was exactly the point. My son and I tried out the hydrogen-powered rocket he'd gotten for Yule but couldn't use until the outside temp was over 55 degrees (the electrolytic hydrogen generator needs that minimum temp to work reliably), with Lovely Housemate![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lylythe_strega providing the voice of Mission Control and video footage for the archives of the Society of Wicked Cool Rocket Scientists. We played T-ball, more along the lines of Calvinball with just the two of us running all over the paddock like crazy people. We played old Avalon-Hill card games. We read together. We explored a bit, hung out a lot, and I enjoyed the heck out of a day with my 7 1/2 year-old.
But then there was work to be done. Housematelylythe_strega cleaned like a dervish and set the table, my son helped clean the dining room and then went and made Mother's Day cards for his soon-to-arrive two grandmothers and a birthday card for his grandfather (whose birthday is the day after Mother's Day), while Lovely Housemate Paul and I prepared the evening's meal. Paul and I don't cook together nearly enough, and it was thoroughly and totally enjoyable. Paul's a trained chef from a good culinary arts school, so I can't claim to have 1/10 of his skill or expertise, but what I lack in experience, I try to make up for in enthusiasm and stubbornness-- sometimes it works. This time I stuck to the wine, cheese and the rhubarb crisp, nothing too challenging.
And it was a lovely meal and a great evening -- the grandparents all had a good time, and my Ravishing Partner said it was the best Mother's Day ever :> The relaxed expression on her face all day and the next morning was a sign we'd hit the mark. Of course, all of this work is not completely altruistic. My day's coming in another month or so, and, y'know, payback's a bliss...
-------
Mother's Day Menu:
The menu we'd planned was based largely on what we could get at this time of year that was grown or produced locally, thus the fiddleheads, rhubarb, and so on. Full recipes included below, thanks to my Lovely Housemate Paul.
We started with a cheese board:
Roasted Garlic- 2 heads (local)
Chevre Noir (Quebec)
Cashel Blue (Irish, Tipperary)
Lazy Lady Farms Les Pyramids (local)
Neal's Yard Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire (Lancashire, natch)
Frog City Cheese Granular Curd Cheese with rosemary (local)
The rest of the meal consisted of:
Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
Brined potatoes with "Mojo" Sauce
Pan Seared Breast of Chicken Grand-Mere with Green Peppercorn, Port and Madeira sauce
Rhubarb Almond Crisp
locally roasted coffee and cappucino
There was some house wine for before-dinner, and I set out three good wines with the meal. These are all great value wines, Spectator rated 90-94, and each at a very reasonable price for that quality. The St. Jean Fume in particular is a big surprise, none of the grassiness/herbs of a Loire, nor the tropical fruit/citrus of a New Zealand wine -- it rocks, with or without food. There hasn't been a California Fume Blanc this good for a long time, and it's under $13/bottle out here. Pretty much the perfect summer wine. The Pinot Noir is one of the best I've had for a long time, too, especially as N.W. coast Pinots have gotten so damn expensive the last couple of years. The pairing of the Pinot with the meal was a little eccentric, but I wanted something that would stand up to the robust sauces with the chicken and potatos, and it was more than up to the job.
Ch. St Jean Fume Blanc Sonoma
Rombauer Chardonnay '04 'Carneros
Tohu Pinot Noir "Marlborough" '05 (NZ)
Recipes:
Pan Seared Breast of Chicken Grand-Mere with Green Peppercorn, Port and Madeira sauce
(10 portions)
5 full chicken breasts, halved- one half
breast/serving, dredged in flour and pepper
Topping for Chicken Breasts:
2 oz bacon (I used turkey bacon)
30 pearl onions- peeled
2 oz quartered white mushrooms
Sauce:
1 shallot, minced
tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup port
3/4 cup madeira
2 cup stock (I used chicken)
2 tsp brined green peppercorns
1/2 stuck cold butter, cut in to squares
Sear outside of chicken breasts, saute' until cooked
through.
Topping:
Saute' bacon, add onions and mushrooms, saute' until
fully cooked
Sauce:
combine shallots, thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, port
and madeira in pan, reduce by half
add stock and green peppercorns, simmer about 10
minutes
remove from heat. Add butter squares, stir in until
they've just fully melted.
Add topping to chicken, serve sauce on side.
Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
1 1/2 pounds fiddleheads
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Boil fiddleheads 10 minutes, strain and rinse
Saute' fiddleheads in sesame oil 5 minutes. Sprinkle
with tamari, saute' 3 more minutes, toss with sesame
seeds.
Brined potatoes with Mojo Sauce
2 pounds potatoes- relatively small- yukon gold or
similar type
Scrub and rinse potatoes
The potatoes will be boiled. Add to the water enough
salt to make it taste like the most repulsively salty
thing you've ever tasted, then add some more. Bring
water to boil, add potatoes, boil for about 30 to 45
minutes. You will see mineral deposits on the water
line of the pot- this is OK. The potatoes will also
become somewhat wrinkled during the cooking process.
This is also OK. They will become wonderfully tender
without the least hint of saltiness if you rinse them
after they're done.
Mojo Sauce:
1 head garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tbsp cumin
dash hot sauce of your choice (preferably something
without much flavour aside from that of the peppers
themselves- I used Iguana Green sauce)
1 fresh ancho chile
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
puree all ingredients besides olive oil in food
processor, gradually add oil until thoroughly blended.
Serve on side with potatoes.
Cheese Board:
Roasted Garlic- 2 heads
Chevre Noir
Cashel Blue
Lazy L:ady Farms Les Pyramids
Neal's Yard Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire
Frog City Cheese Granular Curd Cheese with rosemary
Rhubarb Almond Crisp
2 pounds rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tsp vanilla extract
topping:
3/4 pound unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour (King Arthur all-purpose)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
preheat oven to 350
put rhubarb in saucepan with sugar, medium heat, 15
minutes. mix in apricots, cherries and vanilla.
Remove from heat.
to make topping, cut butter in to small pieces, add to
remaining ingredients, cut together until it resembles
a coarse meal.
divide rhubarb mixture in to ramekins, sprinkle
topping evenly over. Bake 30 minutes until crisp and
golden to top.
Parenting roles, though surely full of rewards and delight, can take so much work, so much care and intention, that a day totally "off duty" is a very special joy. Once you're responsible for a child, the very concept of "time off" takes a total back-seat to the chaos of what Must Be Done Now, and very often, your own immediate needs have to get sidelined to a large extent until the needs of your children are taken care of. That's the way it is, and that's the way it has to be. Nobody should be a selfless martyr, it's always a balance, as with any functional relationship, but it's also true that in a parent-child relationship, it should always be quite clear who the adult/parent is, and what responsibilities that involves. People who are parents know this, and people who become parents...well, they find out soon enough ;>
So the night before Mother's Day, my Ravishing Partner and one of my Lovely Housemates went over to a friend's house for an evening of facials, massage and other sensory pampering that the friend had won in a raffle. The next morning, my Ravishing Partner went out for an early morning walk (morning people...eh), and on her return found flowers, and breakfast served bymy son and I, of Belgian waffles (my favorite recipe uses beaten egg whites folded in to make them very light and fluffy) with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and warm maple syrup, good champagne with a fresh strawberry in it, fresh juice, coffee and other yummy things. My son had hand-made a lovely card as a present to give, and I served the breakfast with my present -- actual matching silverware (well, stainless-ware, whatever) from a nice Oneida service of 16 I'd ordered a few weeks before. The pattern, simple but elegant, is called "Demeter," I couldn't resist. My partner has been wishing for matching silverware for, oh, something like 20 years now, but it's just never been a priority, the mish-mosh of random hand-me-downs we've accumulated have always filled the need. But, you know, 20 years is long enough for someone to wait, I think. The downside is that now having, for the very first time, a full set of matching plates, silverware and glasses, and a real dining-room table that can seat as many people as the room will hold (my partner's table from childhood, in fact, a recent gift from her parents when they moved up), I think we finally have to face the fact that we are really, truly adults. Hmmph.
The rest of the morning and afternoon I spent with my son, doing all kinds of good dad-son stuff, and my partner did whatever the heck she wanted to, whenever she wanted to, which was exactly the point. My son and I tried out the hydrogen-powered rocket he'd gotten for Yule but couldn't use until the outside temp was over 55 degrees (the electrolytic hydrogen generator needs that minimum temp to work reliably), with Lovely Housemate
lylythe_strega providing the voice of Mission Control and video footage for the archives of the Society of Wicked Cool Rocket Scientists. We played T-ball, more along the lines of Calvinball with just the two of us running all over the paddock like crazy people. We played old Avalon-Hill card games. We read together. We explored a bit, hung out a lot, and I enjoyed the heck out of a day with my 7 1/2 year-old. But then there was work to be done. Housemate
lylythe_strega cleaned like a dervish and set the table, my son helped clean the dining room and then went and made Mother's Day cards for his soon-to-arrive two grandmothers and a birthday card for his grandfather (whose birthday is the day after Mother's Day), while Lovely Housemate Paul and I prepared the evening's meal. Paul and I don't cook together nearly enough, and it was thoroughly and totally enjoyable. Paul's a trained chef from a good culinary arts school, so I can't claim to have 1/10 of his skill or expertise, but what I lack in experience, I try to make up for in enthusiasm and stubbornness-- sometimes it works. This time I stuck to the wine, cheese and the rhubarb crisp, nothing too challenging. And it was a lovely meal and a great evening -- the grandparents all had a good time, and my Ravishing Partner said it was the best Mother's Day ever :> The relaxed expression on her face all day and the next morning was a sign we'd hit the mark. Of course, all of this work is not completely altruistic. My day's coming in another month or so, and, y'know, payback's a bliss...
-------
Mother's Day Menu:
The menu we'd planned was based largely on what we could get at this time of year that was grown or produced locally, thus the fiddleheads, rhubarb, and so on. Full recipes included below, thanks to my Lovely Housemate Paul.
We started with a cheese board:
Roasted Garlic- 2 heads (local)
Chevre Noir (Quebec)
Cashel Blue (Irish, Tipperary)
Lazy Lady Farms Les Pyramids (local)
Neal's Yard Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire (Lancashire, natch)
Frog City Cheese Granular Curd Cheese with rosemary (local)
The rest of the meal consisted of:
Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
Brined potatoes with "Mojo" Sauce
Pan Seared Breast of Chicken Grand-Mere with Green Peppercorn, Port and Madeira sauce
Rhubarb Almond Crisp
locally roasted coffee and cappucino
There was some house wine for before-dinner, and I set out three good wines with the meal. These are all great value wines, Spectator rated 90-94, and each at a very reasonable price for that quality. The St. Jean Fume in particular is a big surprise, none of the grassiness/herbs of a Loire, nor the tropical fruit/citrus of a New Zealand wine -- it rocks, with or without food. There hasn't been a California Fume Blanc this good for a long time, and it's under $13/bottle out here. Pretty much the perfect summer wine. The Pinot Noir is one of the best I've had for a long time, too, especially as N.W. coast Pinots have gotten so damn expensive the last couple of years. The pairing of the Pinot with the meal was a little eccentric, but I wanted something that would stand up to the robust sauces with the chicken and potatos, and it was more than up to the job.
Ch. St Jean Fume Blanc Sonoma
Rombauer Chardonnay '04 'Carneros
Tohu Pinot Noir "Marlborough" '05 (NZ)
Recipes:
Pan Seared Breast of Chicken Grand-Mere with Green Peppercorn, Port and Madeira sauce
(10 portions)
5 full chicken breasts, halved- one half
breast/serving, dredged in flour and pepper
Topping for Chicken Breasts:
2 oz bacon (I used turkey bacon)
30 pearl onions- peeled
2 oz quartered white mushrooms
Sauce:
1 shallot, minced
tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup port
3/4 cup madeira
2 cup stock (I used chicken)
2 tsp brined green peppercorns
1/2 stuck cold butter, cut in to squares
Sear outside of chicken breasts, saute' until cooked
through.
Topping:
Saute' bacon, add onions and mushrooms, saute' until
fully cooked
Sauce:
combine shallots, thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, port
and madeira in pan, reduce by half
add stock and green peppercorns, simmer about 10
minutes
remove from heat. Add butter squares, stir in until
they've just fully melted.
Add topping to chicken, serve sauce on side.
Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
1 1/2 pounds fiddleheads
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Boil fiddleheads 10 minutes, strain and rinse
Saute' fiddleheads in sesame oil 5 minutes. Sprinkle
with tamari, saute' 3 more minutes, toss with sesame
seeds.
Brined potatoes with Mojo Sauce
2 pounds potatoes- relatively small- yukon gold or
similar type
Scrub and rinse potatoes
The potatoes will be boiled. Add to the water enough
salt to make it taste like the most repulsively salty
thing you've ever tasted, then add some more. Bring
water to boil, add potatoes, boil for about 30 to 45
minutes. You will see mineral deposits on the water
line of the pot- this is OK. The potatoes will also
become somewhat wrinkled during the cooking process.
This is also OK. They will become wonderfully tender
without the least hint of saltiness if you rinse them
after they're done.
Mojo Sauce:
1 head garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tbsp cumin
dash hot sauce of your choice (preferably something
without much flavour aside from that of the peppers
themselves- I used Iguana Green sauce)
1 fresh ancho chile
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
puree all ingredients besides olive oil in food
processor, gradually add oil until thoroughly blended.
Serve on side with potatoes.
Cheese Board:
Roasted Garlic- 2 heads
Chevre Noir
Cashel Blue
Lazy L:ady Farms Les Pyramids
Neal's Yard Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire
Frog City Cheese Granular Curd Cheese with rosemary
Rhubarb Almond Crisp
2 pounds rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tsp vanilla extract
topping:
3/4 pound unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour (King Arthur all-purpose)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
preheat oven to 350
put rhubarb in saucepan with sugar, medium heat, 15
minutes. mix in apricots, cherries and vanilla.
Remove from heat.
to make topping, cut butter in to small pieces, add to
remaining ingredients, cut together until it resembles
a coarse meal.
divide rhubarb mixture in to ramekins, sprinkle
topping evenly over. Bake 30 minutes until crisp and
golden to top.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-23 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-23 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-23 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-23 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-23 05:47 pm (UTC)...I'm quaking in my boots. :P
Also, this all sounds delicious.
*grin*
Date: 2007-05-23 07:57 pm (UTC)AND the recipes......oh yes, the recipes.....beautiful!!! Rhubarb, btw, is the stuff of the Gods.......I crave it during the 120+ degree heat of the Vegas summer........looks marvelous all around!